Elementary renewed for sixth series

Half a decade ago, there was much hullaballoo when US network CBS announced that it was going to broadcast its own version of Sherlock Holmes, starring British actor Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. How dare they? screamed many Holmes die-hards, especially as the announcement was coming (very) soon after the successful Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss reboot for the BBC. While the BBC version became a global success and a bit of an enigma, catapulting Benedict Cumberbatch to superstardom, the US version also proved its worth. If the BBC’s Sherlock is all bangs and whistles and narrative pyrotechnics, the US version – Elementary – resembles a long-running and often deeply satisfying police procedural. And now it has been renewed for a sixth series.

The 10 Best Crime Dramas This Week (Monday 15th – Sunday 21st May)

(C) BBC – Photographer: Ewen Spencer

I’ve not been able to dedicate as much time to the site as much as I would have liked in the past few weeks due to real-life work, and I kind of thought that this week might be nice and quiet. But no. There’s another harrowing drama based on real-life events (Three Girls, starring the fabulous Maxine Peake), and the start of the final two episodes of Inspector George Gently (which I enjoy, although I know others find deathly dull). There’s also the finale of Little Boy Blue, and, wait for it, Kat & Alfie: Redwater (Thursday 18th May, 8pm, BBC1), which didn’t make the final cut. Yes, you read that correctly – Eastenders characters Kat and Alfie Moon in their own spin-off drama series. Which turns out to be a crime drama. Make of that what you will.